1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to haircutting instruments and methods of using the same primarily in barber shops and beauty salons.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known to use a straight blade in cutting and thinning hair. In the past this has been accomplished by placing an instrument with a blade on one side of a lock of hair and the user's finger on the opposite side of the lock of hair. The user thus pinches or clamps the lock of hair between the blade and his or her finger. This procedure of pinching or clamping a lock of hair between the finger and a blade has the advantage of slicing the individual hairs at an acute angle which provides a softer feel at the hair ends and also inhibits the problem of the hair breaking. Another benefit of cutting the hair ends in this way is that it causes individual hairs to lie neatly within the lock of hair. However, this is a tedious operation and requires great skill to prevent cutting one's finger with the blade. The user must take care to avoid being cut while maintaining the proper amount of pressure and the proper angle of the blade with respect to the individual hairs in the lock of hair.
The present method for pinching and cutting does not assure the safety of the user or provide a consistency in the angle of cut. It fails to provide an instrument and a method for cutting hair with a straight blade, or any analogous tool that is easy to use. Still further, it fails to provide an instrument that has easily replaceable tools including blades, or alternatively, with an integral instrument and blades that are replaceable and disposable as a unit.